Love Is in the Air at Meet the Breeds 2015

There's no better way to spend Valentine's Day than by celebrating one love we all have in common: dogs! About 10,000 dog lovers gathered in New York City on Saturday at the Piers — overlooking the frozen Hudson River — for Meet the Breeds 2015.

For the first time, the American Kennel Club hosted this event the same week as the Westminster Dog Show, which happens this Monday and Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. After patiently waiting in a long line that stretched outside into the bitter cold, attendees roamed the rows of booths celebrating more than 150 AKC-recognized dog breeds.

And if you hadn't guessed it already, red was, of course, the color of the afternoon. That worked out quite well for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier booth, which matched a giant "Love" backdrop with a huge illustration of the iconic red phone booths that the breed's homeland, England, is known for. The Sussex Spaniel booth also joined in on the Valentine's fun with a big, heart-shaped board proclaiming "two hearts are better than one" — with one cutout for the dog's face and another for the admiring human's. Red bandanas, blankets, collars, heart balloons, Valentine's Day signs and the cutest pink and red outfits graced every aisle.

And the breeders and owners at every booth never hesitated to share what they love most about their breeds. Betty Barth happily raved about her Grand Basset Griffon Vendeen dogs: "They love everybody. They love children; they love other dogs," she said. "They're just wonderful, and they make everybody happy."

Awards for best booth went to one breed for each group, and then one best booth overall, which the judges awarded to the Bergamasco booth: